Sears Tower: New glass 'ledges' lead to high anxiety

A few layers of glass separate your feet from the pavement -- 1,350 feet below

July 02, 2009|By Kristen Schorsch, TRIBUNE REPORTER

Three layers of half-inch-thick glass were all that separated me from what looked like Matchbox cars and tiny people about 100 stories below.

My stomach was queasy, and my heart pounded. But the view from this glass box -- about the size of an elevator -- was breathtaking and terrifying, especially for someone who fears heights.

I'm standing on The Ledge, the four new enclosed glass boxes that jut about four feet from the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower. The latest addition to the 110-story high-rise opens Thursday. From the glass boxes, visitors get a nearly panoramic view, from Wacker Drive below and up to 50 miles in three directions on a clear day. The boxes can hold at least 5 tons each, about the weight of an elephant, and they can retract into the building when the windows get washed.

The idea to suspend glass boxes 1,353 feet in the air spawned from all the forehead marks on the glass walls of the 103rd floor, known as Skydeck Chicago, general manager Randy Stancik said. Visitors just love looking down, so the Sears Tower decided to give them an unobstructed view.

On Wednesday, I joined a few lucky wide-eyed children and adults to catch an early glimpse of The Ledge. My editor gave me the assignment not despite my fear of heights, but because of it.

After seesawing for a few minutes between the carpeted entryway and the Ledge's glass floor, I finally edged one foot onto the glass. It was petrifying. But after a few more minutes, I shuffled my way to the corner of the box.

Ah, the spectacular view. The entire panorama of Chicago lay out before me. But the fear still lingered. Death was surely below. The children surrounding me thought my fear was quite funny.

Adam Kane, 10, and his sprightly young companions were oblivious to any potential for plunging to the streets below. They wormed their way around the glass box, streaking the glass with tiny fingerprints, and sat comfortably cross-legged on the floor. "When I look down, it's still pretty freaky," said Adam, who ventured to Chicago from Alton, Ill., with his family. "My legs, they feel like all wobbly. It feels like they're going to squish to the ground."

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP designed The Ledge, a year-and-a-half project. Determining how to suspend boxes from the top of the tower was a challenge, project manager Lou Cerny said. Then there were Chicago's harsh winds, which wouldn't allow workers at times to assemble the boxes now suspended by 30-pound steel beams from inside the tower. Cerny had advice for the fearful: Just take the first step in. And, of course, come back for more.

"You do it for the 10th time and you don't even think about it anymore," Cerny said.

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Skydeck facts

*Opened in 1974, it attracts more than 1 million visitors a year.

*Is 1,353 feet high on the 103rd floor of the tallest building in the United States.

*Visitors can see up to 50 miles away and four states.

General admission: $14.95 for visitors 12 and older; $10.50 for children 3 to 11; Free for 2 and younger. Admission includes the new Ledge.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. through September, though it does close rarely for special events and extremely high winds.

Source: The Sears Tower

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klschorsch@tribune.com

Hey, Chicago, look out below

Kristen Schorsch shows what it looks like from the new Ledge at chicagotribune.com/skydeck